Tuberculosis: vaccines, diagnostics and experience
This is a special seminar marking the centenary of Franz Kafka's death, as we examine the disease that took his life: TB (tuberculosis), and how Oxford is at the forefront of addressing this major global challenge. The seminar, recorded at the Weston Library, features leading researchers from the University of Oxford, supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, who are tackling one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases. A talk from a former patient on the lived experience puts the work in perspective.
In this video, you'll hear from:
• Prof. Helen McShane, Deputy Head of the Medical Sciences Division and Director of the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, who discusses her groundbreaking work on new TB vaccines.
• Dr. Philip Fowler, who explains the crucial role of genetics in identifying drug-resistant TB strains and developing targeted treatments.
• Amy, a patient representative, who shares her personal journey through the challenges of TB diagnosis and treatment.
10 Years To Eliminate Hepatitis B: Can it be done? Prof. Philippa Matthews
On 21 November 2019, the NIHR oxford Biomedical Research Centre hosted a free public talk at the John Radcliffe hospital: ‘Ten years to eliminate Hepatitis B: can it be done?’ by Dr Philippa Matthews of the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine and the Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research.
Hepatitis B is estimated to infect almost 300 million people globally, and one third of the world’s population has been exposed to the virus. International sustainable development goals have set ambitious targets for the elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health threat by the year 2030.
With a safe, effective vaccine and widely available antiviral drugs that can suppress the infection, is this goal within reach?
Using data from Africa, Dr Matthews explored the impact of HBV infection and its current treatments, and suggested the steps that could help us move towards its elimination.
Stopping the Spread of a Superfungus in Intensive Care – Dr Katie Jeffery and Dr David Eyre
In 2017, the Intensive Care unit at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital was hit by an outbreak of the potentially deadly fungal pathogen Candida auris.
Through a combination of good infection prevention and control, whole genome sequencing and electronic patient data, Oxford University Hospitals (OUH), supported by NIHR Oxford BRC researchers, became the first NHS trust to halt such an outbreak with a clear understanding of the cause.
Speaking at the Oxford BRC’s Open Day in May 2019, the Director of Infection Prevention and Control at OUH, Dr Katie Jeffery, and Dr David Eyre, of the Nuffield Department of Medicine and Big Data Institute, explained how the ‘superfungus’ was stopped in its tracks.
Dr Philip Fowler – Enlisting citizen scientists to help classify M tuberculosis strains
BRC public talk on tuberculosis 17 May 2018
Dr Philip Fowler, Senior Researcher, Modernising Medical Microbiology, University of Oxford, on Enlisting citizen scientists to help classify M. tuberculosis strains.
BashTheBug.net is a Citizen Science project that invites everyone to help us measure how well a large number of M. tuberculosis strains grow when exposed to different concentrations of 14 different antibiotics. It was launched on the Zooniverse platform in April 2017 and since then over 10,000 people have done over 750,000 classifications helping us build an accurate and consistent picture of how genetic variation confers resistance to different antibiotics.
Dr Tim Walker – Tackling the TB pandemic by reading its DNA
BRC public talk on tuberculosis 17 May 2018
Dr Tim Walker, Specialist Registrar in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, on Tackling the TB pandemic by reading its DNA. Dr Walker explains how the study of TB genetics is changing the way we diagnose and treat the disease, and how it might help control the spread of TB. But can it help eliminate the disease completely?
Dr Carolyn Day – Consumptive Chic BRC public talk on tuberculosis 17 May 2018
BRC public talk on tuberculosis 17 May 2018
Dr Carolyn A. Day, Associate Professor of History at Furman University and author of Consumptive Chic: A History of Beauty, Fashion and Disease (London: Bloomsbury, 2017).
During the first half of the 19th century, there was a tubercular moment in which cultural ideas about beauty increasingly intertwined with the disease process of tuberculosis to allow for the ravages of the illness to be presented in an aesthetically pleasing light. As a result, there was a dynamic interaction between fashion and disease, one that defined beauty practices and fashion in Britain during the period.
Vaccines and Infectious Disease – Open weeks 2015
Footage from a free public engagement day in Oxford on Vaccines and Infectious Disease, held at Oxford University Museum of Natural History, 6th March 2015.
The event was organised by Dr Lynda Coughlan, Public Engagement Representative at the Jenner Institute, and was run in partnership with The British Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT), The British Society for Immunology (BSI), Oxford NIHR BRC and Oxfordshire Science Festival 2015. Over 250 people pre-registered to attend the event, including GCSE/A-level schools groups as well as members of the public and patient groups. The interactive day involved talks from science experts, hands-on activities, exhibitors, a panel discussion and special appearance by guest speaker Prof Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and co-discoverer of the Ebola virus.
This film was produced by Oxford Medical Illustration part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. Find out more about OMI here: http://oxfordmi.nhs.uk/OMI
Vaccines – lecture by Prof. Andrew J. Pollard
Professor Andrew J Pollard, Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity at Oxford University, looks at common childhood diseases and how effective the vaccination programme has been in developed countries, then looks at the picture in less developed nations. He also looks at new research into vaccines for different types of meningitis and influenza.
The challenges associated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Professor Angela Brueggemann of the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine discusses the issues around the increasing prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in hospitals and the community. This talk was hosted by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre on September 17 2015 at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford.
Vaccines – Swine Flu – lecture by Prof. Andrew J. Pollard
Professor Andrew J. Pollard talks about vaccinology in Oxford and the study on H1N1 swine flu
Iron and infection – podcast with Dr Hal Drakesmith
Podcast with Dr Hal Drakesmith. Dr Drakesmith discusses how iron helps us to fight infection, but also how iron can feed the microbes that cause infection. New research may enable us to reduce iron availability to microbes, helping the immune system to fight infection more effectively.
© Nuffield Department of Medicine
Medical imaging – lecture by Fergus Gleeson
Lecture about medical imaging by Fergus Gleeson. The lecture covers the history of imaging, staging cancer, HIFU, chest imaging and a summary.
How to be the perfect host – lecture by Prof. Paul Klenerman
Professor Paul Klenerman presents his research findings on viral infections such as HIV and hepatitis C, and how vaccines against these and other micro-organisms are being developed.
Tracking bugs in healthcare – lecture by Prof. Derrick Crook
Lecture by Derrick Crook, Professor of Microbiology and Consultant Physician, about how our hospitals are working hard to reduce infection and what that means for patients and healthcare staff. He explains how his team are tracking patients and the history of their treatment over time in the hospital by retrieving and using old records. They are also tracking the progress of different bugs over a number of years.